Healthy fats: Olive & Canola Oil

And what about “Healthy Margarines?”

Note: Coconut and palm oils are the two exceptions among plant oils in that they are high in saturated fat. They are cheap for food manufacturers to use, and are in thousands of food products ("all vegetable oils!" spin the labels). Until the government catches up with the powerful food lobby, if ever, you’re best off sticking to olive & canola oil. Sunflower and safflower oil are also good, or most vegetable oils -- as long as they stay liquid at room temperature, and aren’t palm or coconut oil.

Atkins-type diets have done a lot of damage. You may know people who swear by them, pointing to the fact that dieting on bacon and sirloin has helped them lose weight and get their blood sugar down. Well, those two - weight & blood sugar down - are good news. But...

Their arteries are sick. Ticking time bombs for heart attack or stroke.

They may look thinner on the outside, but all that saturated fat has raised their  LDL (bad) cholesterol. This directly causes fatty cholesterol deposits inside arteries and narrows them, which in turn causes heart attack and stroke. Lost weight and lower blood sugar - again - are good but only half the full trip to health.

Gunked-up arteries are a serious price to pay.

This American Diabetes Association advice is really for everyone (this page, below the white plate): “Since people with diabetes are at an increased risk for heart disease, it’s also important to limit the bad-for-you fats that lurk in full-fat milk products, meats, and processed foods. Both saturated fat and trans fat up your risk for heart disease and stroke [for everyone], so begin replacing foods like whole milk, regular cheese, butter, shortening, bacon, and bologna with low-fat versions such as skim milk, low-fat cheese, olive oil, and lean meats or fish.

It can sometimes be hard to tell how much unhealthy fat is in the foods you eat, but reading packaged foods’ nutritional labels, checking for saturated fat and trans fat, can help.”

Olive and canola oil reduce the risk of stroke and coronary disease because they are high in MUFAs (mono- and polyunsaturated fat) and very low in saturated fat.

Both also have high levels of antioxidants to further bolster your health.

Luscious Chocolate Layer Cake, per frosted serving: 230 calories, 32 g protein, 5 g carbs, 16 g fiber, 1 g monounsaturated fat, 0 g saturated fat, and 51,700 antioxidants

How is this possible? Check out the 3 new Mega Health Ingredients, Pink Box, top center of this page.